Starbucks debuted its new summer menu this week, featuring three new drinks: a refreshing Summer-Berry, a refreshing Summer-Berry Lemonade and a dairy-free Summer Skies Drink.
The twist? The three new drinks are Starbucks’ take on boba, or bubble tea, and feature “juicy raspberry-flavored pearls,” inspired by the popular East Asian drink.
We started with pieces of fruit, but we wanted something even bolder, Starbucks beverage developer Simon Vuong said in a statement. So, we thought, let’s put fruit-flavored pearls into the drink and give it a try. It’s so funny the way it delivers the flavor when it comes out in your mouth.
New boba-inspired drinks may be a fun way to quench your summer thirst, but just how healthy are these new Starbucks options? Three registered dietitians reviewed the nutrition and ingredients of these drinks, here’s what they think.
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Starbucks Summer-Berry drinks are similar to other Starbucks soft drinks or non-dairy drinks: a sweetened Summer-Berry base (a mix of raspberry, blueberry and blackberry flavors) is poured over ice or mixed with lemonade or coconut milk .
The standout ingredient in these new drinks and what sets them apart from other Starbucks Refreshers is the addition of raspberry-flavored pearls made from a mixture of water, sugar, calcium lactate, sodium alginate and concentrated vegetable juices, among other things.
These flavored pearls are inspired by the “bubbles” of bubble tea. According to Scott Keatley, RD, co-owner of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy, traditional bubble tea beads are made from tapioca, which is a starch extracted from cassava, a root vegetable.
While tapioca-based pearls can cause some gastrointestinal problems, such as constipation, Starbucks pearls are less likely to cause those side effects, Keatley said. Health. However, “it’s still wise to enjoy them in moderation due to potential sugar content and other digestive considerations,” he added.
All three bubble tea-inspired drinks are high in sugar and carbohydrates, but low in fat, fiber or protein. Here’s the nutritional breakdown of each drink:
Starbucks Summer-Berry Refreshing Drink:
- Calories: 110
- Fat: 0 grams
- Saturated fats: 0 grams
- Carbohydrates: 27 grams
- Sugars: 25 grams
- Fiber: 0 grams
- Proteins: 0 grams
- Caffeine: 50 grams
Summer Berry Lemonade Starbucks Refreshing Drink:
- Calories: 160
- Fat: 0 grams
- Saturated fats: 0 grams
- Carbohydrates: 39 grams
- Sugars: 37 grams
- Fiber: 0 grams
- Proteins: 0 grams
- Caffeine: 50 grams
Summer Skies Drink Refreshing drink Starbucks:
- Calories: 150
- Fat: 2.5 grams
- Saturated fat: 2.5 grams
- Carbohydrates: 31 grams
- Sugars: 29 grams
- Fiber: 1 gram
- Proteins: 0 grams
- Caffeine: 50 grams
Experts agree that these new drinks aren’t the worst things you can order from Starbucks, but they’re not necessarily a healthy drink.
These bubble teas are full of added sugar and have minimal nutritional benefits, Keri Gans, RD, registered dietitian nutritionist and author of The Small Change Diet, he said Health.
Jessica Cording, RD, Registered Dietitian, Health Coach, and Author of The Little Book of Game Changers agree: “[These drinks] they definitely fall into the pleasure category,” he said Healthadding that because these drinks are high in sugar with less fat or protein, they could cause your blood sugar to spike and then drop.
But it’s not all bad. Gans praised the spirulina concentrate in the drinks for giving them their bold blue color. Spirulina may have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties beneficial to our health, he said. However, it is not known how much the teas contain to provide any benefits.
And a quick note from Gans about the fruit-flavored pearls: “Bubbles should be chewed and not swallowed, as they can be a choking hazard. Cording added that people with swallowing problems and those small children should stay away from pearls.
In general, registered dietitians think these drinks are fine in moderation. “[They] they can have their place as something a person enjoys from time to time,” Cording said.
If you choose to enjoy one of these drinks, Keatley said it’s important to look at adding them in the context of your diet as a whole. “Although the drink is high in sugar, it fits the wider spectrum of dietary indulgences when enjoyed in moderation,” he said. “It’s free of artificial colors and uses some natural ingredients, which is commendable. It’s about balance and enjoying these treats in the context of a complete diet.”
If you want to be especially mindful of when you drink these drinks, Keatley recommends looking at what else you drink on any given day. For those who are particularly fond of bubble tea,” she said, “choosing days when your overall sugar intake is lower can help accommodate this indulgence without disrupting nutritional goals.”
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